Daughter of Neptune, Book one

IX

Tori pov

"Leo?" I yelled.

Sure enough, there he was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, "Don't kill me!" Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor. The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"

Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.

I couldn't blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture--different shades of copper and bronze--a sixty foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

"It's beautiful," I muttered. The other demigods stared at me like I was insane.

The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" he shouted. He looked like he was rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were greased-stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were blood shot. His curly hair was so oily that it was stuck in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely like Tabasco sauce. But he looked absolutely delighted. "Festus was just saying hello!"

"That thing is dangerous!" an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" I ordered. I pushed through the crowd flanked by Annabeth and that girl from the Hephaestus cabin, Nyssa.

I gazed up at the dragon and shook my head in amazement. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

"It--has wings," Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might drop off her face.

"Yeah!" Leo said. "I found them and reattached them."

"But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"

Leo hesitated, and I could tell he was hiding something.

"In...the woods." he said. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?" Nyssa asked.

The dragon's head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid--maybe oil, hopefully just oil--poured out of its ear, all over Leo.

"Just a few kinks to work out," Leo said.

"But how did you survive...?" Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. "I mean, the fire breath..."

"I'm quick," Leo said. "and lucky. Now, am I on this quest or what?"

Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus?" You know that in Latin, 'festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"

The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.

"That's a yes, bro!" Leo said. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys, I already picked up some supplies in the--um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making him nervous."

Jason frowned. "But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just--"

"Go," Annabeth said. She was the only one who didn't look nervous at all. Her expression was sad and wistful, like this reminded her of better times. "Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"

Jason and I nodded. Then I smiled at Leo.

"You ready, partner?" He asked me.

I looked at the bronze dragon wings shimmering against the sky, and those talons that could've shredded me to pieces.

"You bet," I said.

Flying on the dragon was the scariest but the most amazing experience ever.

Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon's metal hide generated so much heat, it was like we were flying in a protective bubble. Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon's back were designed like high-tech saddles, so we weren't uncomfortable at all! Leo showed us how to hook our feet in the chinks of the armor, like stirrups, and use the leather safety harness cleverly concealed under the exterior planting. We sat in single file: Leo first, then me, then Piper, then Jason.

Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it all his life. The metal wings worked perfectly, and soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind us. We shot of Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds.

Leo grinned back at us. "Cool, right?"

"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.

"The Mist." Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll mistake us for a small plane or something.

Piper looked over her shoulder. "You sure about that?"

"No," he admitted. Then I saw him clutching a photo in his hand--a picture of a girl with dark hair.

I gave him a quizzical look, but he blushed and put the photo in his pocket. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."

I wondered who the girl in the picture was, but I didn't want to ask; and if Jason was volunteering the information, that wasn't a good sign. Had he remembered something about his life before? Was that photo his real girlfriend?

Piper asked a safer question. "Where are we heading?"

"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."

I pulled out one of the pictures I took from the Poseidon Cabin and looked at it for a second. Percy Jackson. My brother.

I saw Leo looking at me, but then he looked away immediately looked away. I swear I saw hurt flash in his eyes. I put the picture away. Then I made the horrible mistake of looking down. My fear of heights kicked in and instinctively wrapped my arms around the first person I saw. Which of course had to be Leo.

"You okay?" Leo asked me.

"Heights and me. Not the greatest combination."

"Don't worry, T. I won't let anything happen to you."